The National Weather Service says ice falling in the form of freezing rain is particularly dangerous.
Drivers will need to be very cautious Monday afternoon and evening as snow changes over to sleet and freezing rain. The National Weather Service says more than 85 percent of ice storm deaths are traffic
related. Even small amounts of freezing rain can cover streets with ice. Bridges and overpasses are the first to freeze over, thanks to cold air that is allowed to flow underneath them.
The Highway Patrol urges caution in conditions like this, reminding drivers that your brakes don't work on ice.
A quarter-inch of freezing rain can create widespread power outages as the precipitation hits the power lines and freezes on contact. The most recent weather event where freezing rain led to widespread power outages in our area was in December 2002. Nearly an inch of freezing rain brought down trees and power lines. More than one and half million people in North Carolina lost power during the 2002 ice storm.